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“Then how come you’re crying?” Remi asked innocently, forgetting her own tears.
Roma let out a small laugh. “Because I’m so happy, darling.”
Remi’s brow wrinkled and her lower lip jutted out as she considered this. “I only cry when I’m sad.”
“Nana is silly, that’s all,” Frank added. “She’s a waterworks. She leaks a lot.”
Chase let out a sigh that echoed my own relief that Remi was calming down as Roma and Frank continued to talk to her and divert her attention from her isolation. There was a metal edge at the bottom of the window and he let go of me and leaned on it with a muffled groan. “Ughhh…”
Jensen heard it and quickly retrieved the wheelchair and pushed up behind Chase and bent to engage the brake. “Take a seat, gimpy.”
Chase tried to glower at Jensen, but it turned into a grin as he lowered himself using only his arms. Obviously, the two of them were getting along and I wondered if anything was settled between them. “She looks like she’s doing better. She has more color in her face, already.”
“Agreed. I’m going to ask the nurse for an update,” Jensen said moving away to the other end of the room and motioning for the nurse to come to the glass.
Chase reached for my hand and threaded his fingers through mine and then he kissed the top of it. His open mouth brushed against my skin in a caress. “She already looks healthier,” he said.
“I’m afraid to think that yet. I don’t want to jinx it.”
My apprehension stemmed from the two rounds of chemo putting her in remission. I was afraid of too much early optimism leading to a huge letdown, but I didn’t want to dampen Chase’s good mood. All I could do was look at him in wonder. With my whole heart, I wanted to believe it was true.
His gorgeous green eyes were intense. “You and Remi are my world now. This has got to work.”
The familiar combination of emotions of love, hope, and fear raced through me, but I tried to hide it. “I’ll feel better in a day or two. Every hour that passes, the closer we are to being in the clear.”
“Teagan,” Chase’s voice was filled with conviction. “I believe in miracles. Just look around. We’re surrounded by them.”
When he put it that way, I couldn’t argue.
Remi was chattering away with Roma and Frank and it was good to hear her little voice coming through the intercom stronger than it had been in weeks. “You know, I gotta friend named Sally, too. Not this one.” She pointed at the nurse. “She lives next door. We play dress up a lot when I can’t go outside ‘cause of the Leuky or mean medicine.”
“Sally sounds like a very nice friend, Remi.” Roma’s happy expression only faltered momentarily at Remi’s mention of her illness. She and Frank had pulled two chairs close to the glass so they could get to know the little girl and both of them were completely smitten with her.
“Yeah. She has a dog, and Jensey said I could have one when I’m better. Do you have a dog?”
“We have three dogs,” Frank said. “They’d love you. We have a tree house and a big tire swing, too. There are a bunch of trees behind our house and your daddy and uncle Kevin built a fort back there. All of it is waiting for you to come and play. And you have five cousins, too.”
“I would like to play with the dogs and stuff, but what are cousins?”
He nodded in her direction. “Just listen to that. It’s music to my ears.” Chase seemed tired of being confined to the wheelchair, and decided to stand up, but it wasn’t without a grimace. “Come sit with me over here on the sofa.”
I slid a hand around his waist and my other hand flattened on his hard abs beneath his shirt. “Are you sure you’re ready to walk around?” He was moving slow and he seemed stiff as we settled onto the couch. “You should take some of the pain medication. You’ll sleep better.”
“It’s only ten feet for Christ’s sake. Why are you trying to drug me? If you want something, all you have to do is ask,” he teased.
“Haha,” I mocked, poking him gently in the ribs. Chase’s arm lifted and wrapped around me and guiltily, I glanced at Jensen who, it appeared, was finishing up with the nurse. Chase followed my gaze.
“I had a talk with Jensen when you were passed out in the chair, earlier.” He looked at me seriously, gauging my reaction. I’d seen that look a thousand times and I could read him like a book.
“Yeah?” I reached up and grabbed his hand. It was easy to lean into him and lay my head back on his strong shoulder and chest as I looked up into his face. “What’d you figure out?”
“To start with, everything is cool with us.”
“Really?” I asked skeptically. Six years of shit was a lot to put away with one conversation.
“Well, yeah, I mean…” Chase searched for the words he wanted. “He reiterated everything you said, and I took my share of the blame. I think we’re good. We both love you, and Remi and that’s the most important thing.”
Jensen approached and took the chair to Chase’s left so the rest of this conversation would have to wait. I couldn’t help pulling back from Chase guiltily.
